IN A nod to the Republic's ambition to become an international cruise centre, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) gave a glimpse of its new cruise terminal at a shipping event in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday which attracted industry bigwigs.

The new terminal will boast berths that can accommodate the world's largest ships.

It will help Singapore achieve its ambition of becoming a cruise hub for the region by doubling the handling capacity of the current HarbourFront terminal, which is already struggling to cope with the growing number of ships and people arriving there.

Worse, the existing terminal at HarbourFront has a height restriction of 52m, making it impossible for many bigger ships to dock there.

The new terminal at Marina South will not have any size or height restrictions.

However, it will be ready only by 2011, a year later than originally planned. No reason for the delay was given in STB's press statement.

Read the full story in The Straits Times today.